Prominent TV journalist couple murdered in B’desh

Dhaka: Two well-known Bangladeshi television journalists were on Friday found stabbed to death in their home in
the capital Dhaka, sparking a widespread protest prompting
authorities to issue orders for an investigation.

Sagar Sarwar and his wife Meherun Runi, news editor of
private Maasranga Television and senior reporter of private
ATN Bangla respectively, were chopped to death at their West
Rajabazar residence here early this morning, police said.

The bodies of the couple - both in their late 30s - were
found by their five-year-old son, who called relatives living
nearby, they said.

Police said the child phoned his maternal grandmother
early in the morning and said "my parents are dead".

The motive for the killings was not known and it was
unclear if the deaths were related to their work.

Doctors, who carried out the autopsy, said the killers
stabbed Sarwar at least 20 times at different parts of his
body and then confirmed his death by cutting his throat while
Runi was stabbed twice.

"We think it (murder) was not an act of any professional
killer ... no professional killer murdered the couple," a
doctor familiar with the autopsy said.

Police said they initially detained four people for
questioning as four teams already launched probe into the
murders while Home Minster Sahara Khatun said law enforcement
agencies were ordered to provide the report within 48 hours.

They said they were looking for clues as no valuables
were missing from the house, meaning it was not a case of
robbery.

Joint commissioner of Detective Branch of police Maruf
Hassan said one of the four detainee was a brother-in-law of
Sarwar while police earlier said the three others were manager
and the two security guards of the apartment complex.

Runi`s brother was later released after questioning,
police sources said.

"We are laying highest priority to track down the
perpetrators of this heinous crime," police commissioner of
Dhaka Benajir Ahmed told reporters.

Different journalists organizations sit in protests and
demanded exemplary punishment of the assailants after a quick
investigation as government and opposition leaders mourned the
deaths and protested the murders.

The couple was buried at the city`s Azimpur graveyard
after their funeral prayers which was joined by hundreds of
mourners including journalists and politicians.